‘Incrementing’ in conversation. A comparison of practices in English, German and Japanese

THE Institution of Electrical Engineers arranged a discussion on Nov. 21 on the low temperature carbonisation of fuel in combination with the generation of electricity. Prof. P. Rosin dealt with German practice, S. McEwen with American, and E. H. Smythe and E. G. Weekes with English practice. As all these speakers have had ample opportunity of familiarising themselves with the problem, their opinions deserve close attention.

It has long been a favourite theme of ecclesiastical historians, particularly in Germany, that the separation of cathedral chapter from episcopal estates was an important step in the development of ecclesiastical administration, not least because it assisted cathedral chapters to become independent and powerful electoral colleges. It was shown by Gerhard Kallen in the 1920s and, more recently and in greater detail, by Rudolf Schieffer, how this separation of estates, which took a long time to be effected, began with grants made to the cathedral ‘for the use of the brothers’ or with grants for more specific purposes, usually of a liturgical nature. This paper looks at a closely related issue, the splitting up of the estates held by the chapter. This division was to some extent inherent from early on, because of the conditions attached to certain benefactions, but it increased throughout the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. The way the chapter's revenues were organised had important consequences for the cohesion of the chapter as a community and also for the way in which clerical preferment operated. This can be very clearly demonstrated by a comparative study of the ways in which German and English cathedrals managed their property in the twelfth century. Since the differences between the German and the English systems are so striking the two will be considered in turn, and a comparison will also be made of the control which German and English clerks had over their personal property, which deserves attention not least because the dividing line between personal and chapter property was sometimes a fine one.

The contextualization of materials in the context of teaching English for specific purposes (ESP) is a prerequisite to gain maximum input of language knowledge. The present study sheds some light on the practice of Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) approach in English for accounting course. This study involved 38 Indonesian ESP students majoring in accounting of a public university in Surakarta Indonesia as the participants. Pre-experimental research design was conducted in eight meeting during the course, including the administration of vocabulary test to examine the participants’ score in pre-test and post-test. A focus group discussion (FGD) was also carried out to reveal the students’ perception about the practice of CLIL approach in English for accounting course. The results depicted that there was a significant difference on the participants’ vocabulary scores between the pre-test and the post-test. It was also portrayed that the participants positively perceived the CLIL practice in their class. The results of this study contribute to providing fruitful insights for teachers and future researchers about CLIL practice in English language teaching, specifically in the context of teaching English for specific purposes.

The paper focuses on the special copyright law features and issues of dramatic works in the Hungarian, German, and English copyright laws. The paper put emphasis on the role and situation of the theatre director. The director has a vital role in the staging process. However, this essential role, his copyright law situation is not fully recognized and settled by the legislator. After a brief general introduction about copyright protection of dramatic works, the role of the director is presented due to the specialities of dramatic works, so in line with the aleatoric nature of dramatic works, the theatrical specialities of adaptation and the theatrespecified application of integrity right. In the paper I outline some solutions for this incomplete situation of theatre director according to the Hungarian, English, and German legal theory and practice.

INTRODUCTION Especially in family law, long, contradictory proceedings present an exceptional financial, as well as emotional, challenge for the parties. As a result, alternative dispute resolution mechanisms have gained in importance. In the family law context, mediation is probably the most common method of resolving differences arsing upon separation out of court. Arbitration, however, is not very oft en associated with family disputes, but seems rather more familiar in commercial and other fields of law. Nevertheless, in some jurisdictions, family law arbitration has either already been or is planned to be implemented into family law practice. Special emphasis must be put on the American Uniform Family Law Arbitration Act of 2016, which aims to harmonise the regulatory framework of family law arbitration in the United States and was already adopted by the states of Arizona and Hawaii in 2017 and by the state of North Dakota in 2019. Likewise in England and Wales there have been recent developments in this regard. In 2012, the Institute of Family Arbitrators (IFLA) launched its first scheme under which family disputes can be resolved by means of arbitration. But what does arbitration contribute to family law alternative dispute resolution? What is generally perceived to be its advantages and disadvantages? The potential advantage of arbitration as an alternative to conventional court proceedings is usually seen in the selection of the decision-maker. The parties themselves can, with their lawyer's assistance if they have one, choose their arbitrator, whereas in court the judge is assigned to the case. The chosen arbitrator will deal with the case from start to finish, while in court (at least for example in England and Wales), different judges may be involved in different stages of the case. It is oft en said that the arbitrator has more time to prepare the case than a judge and manages the case in a reliable way. Further, it is appreciated that the parties can create a convenient forum for their hearing by selecting a pleasant venue and a suitable day and time. This flexibility of timing speeds up the process and also allows a better prediction as to when the case will be terminated. Arbitration can therefore be the more efficient way of resolving a conflict. Moreover, the parties can determine the issues to be arbitrated, the form of procedure and the order of dispute resolution.

Travel literature has long and complex traditions. In the European context, Homer’s Odyssey constitutes the earliest representative masterpiece, followed by countless variations and modifications of the genre in English, French, German, Italian and Spanish literary practice over the centuries, including the realm of music as for example Schubert’s Winterreise and in more recent times the film as Wim Wender’s memorable depictions of the wasteland of capitalism in the American West. Travels in mysterious uncharted terri- tory as powerful metaphors of self-exploration also form an integral part of Australian literary consciousness (e.g. Patrick White’s Voss). Chinese literature also has a long and rich tradition of travel literature with its origins dating back well before its Western counterparts. The travel-motif as determining structural and thematic feature appears in numerous variations ranging from flying shamans, journeys in search of paradise or immortality, dangerous sea-journeys as for example Tang Ao’s miraculous adventures reminiscent of Gulliver’s travels, the life of the vagrant monks and robbers in popular literary works, the journeys of scholars to India in search of the Buddhist Scriptures, Kang Youwei’s utopian journeys to heaven, Mao Zedong’s Long March and his ritualistic crossing of the Yangtze in 1956 and 1966 and symbolic journeys in contemporary Chinese literature. The paper will focus specifically on exemplary works of Chinese literature and identify hallmarks of the genre.

The purpose of this study is to examine whether or not the integration of portfolio as part of the assessment practices in English for Specific Purposes (ESP) context can significantly impact the improvement of the Moroccan police cadets’ EFL writing skills. The study participants were 50 Moroccan Police Cadets who have been studying English for Policing at the Moroccan Defense Language Institute for one year. They were randomly selected and divided into experimental and control groups. Each group consists of 25 students. A pre-test was administered to both groups to check their writing proficiency level. The experimental group students were treated, throughout the semester, using portfolio-based assessment techniques like (self-and peer-assessment, teacher’s feedback, student-teacher conferences…etc.) to evaluate their writing skill, whereas the control group ones were tested using the traditional summative writing achievement tests. Eventually, a paired sample t-test was conducted to determine the significant differences between the two groups after the treatment. The findings showed that the experimental group students, who were exposed to portfolio-based writing assessment, outperformed their control group counterparts. Finally, the researchers concluded that the use of portfolio assessment in an ESP classroom positively affects the Moroccan Police Cadets’ writing skills.

Exams with high stakes may affect test takers’ learning endeavors. Given the students’ different academic backgrounds, it is not yet clear how much of an effect the tests will have on their out-of-classroom learning practices. This study, thus, aimed to close the knowledge gap by employing a mixed method of embedded research design and collecting data via questionnaire, focused group discussion (FGD), and document analysis. The questionnaire was administered to a stratified random sample of 94 12th grade students. The students with their one-semester academic achievements were selected from two secondary schools found in East Wollega zone, Oromia Regional State, Ethiopia. Data analysis involved descriptive statistics, multivariate and one-way ANOVA. The data gathered through document analysis and FGD were to substantiate the questionnaire. The contents of the three consecutive years of past Ethiopian Secondary School Leaving Certificate English Examination (ESSLCEE) questions were analyzed quantitatively. The qualitative method was used to conduct FGD with the selected participants from each school. The recorded data were subsequently transcribed, translated, analyzed, and discussed thematically. The study found significant differences between students of low-achieving groups (“Fair” and “Satisfactory” scorers) and high-achieving groups (“Very Good” and “Excellent” scorers) in studying non-ESSLCEE-related learning activities out-of-classroom. However, no statistically significant differences were observed between low-achieving groups and high-achieving groups regarding practicing ESSLCEE-related language components. The washback of high-stakes ESSLCEE on students’ out-of-classroom English learning practices was observed regardless of the students’ specific academic achievement groups they belonged to. The results suggest that there are differences in the impact of high-stakes exams on the efforts that students from different academic backgrounds make for out-of-classroom learning practices.

There are great variations between hospitals in the way drugs are prescribed, and these variations may be due to multiple factors such as local prescribing traditions, pharmacoeconomic considerations, drug availability, regional differences of population, disease prevalence etc. Available studies on prescribing habits, apart from studies performed in a unique center, have until now been mainly restricted to single countries or regions and the comparisons across countries or regions have often been limited by the use of diverse methodologies and definitions. The aim of the present study was to compare drug prescriptions between German and Swiss psychiatric services with regard to their preference of newer psychotropics. Five psychiatric hospitals, associated to the AMSP project, were chosen to represent Swiss and German clinics, university and non-university settings. Data were available from one index day on 572 patients and 1,745 prescriptions. The comparisons were adjusted for age and gender. There was a significant difference (p < 0.001) with regard to the prescription of newer antidepressants (NAD), Swiss clinicians giving proportionally more (65.2%) than the German psychiatrists (48.3%). No significant difference was, on the other hand, found as to the proportion of atypical antipsychotics, the lack of difference being due to the higher proportion of clozapine among the atypical antipsychotics in Germany. There seems, therefore, to be a higher propensity for Swiss hospital psychiatrists to prescribe newer antidepressants. This seems to be due to national or regional prescribing traditions. Further studies are needed to investigate the economical influences on antidepressant prescribing in Swiss and German clinics.

This study presents findings on three research agendas: (1) the difference between native English-speaking teachers (NESTs) and non-native English-speaking teachers (NNESTs) in students’ attitudes toward and motivation for learning English, (2) the moderating effect of the type of class (i.e., English Conversation vs. Practical English) on the difference in students’ perceived attitudes and motivation, and (3) the difference between NESTs and NNESTs in their self-perception of their teaching practices and the effect of the type of class on this difference. The results indicate significant differences between NESTs and NNESTs in terms of their students’ perceived attitudes and motivation with respect to English learning. However, these differences varied depending upon the type of class. These results provide empirical support for the role of the type of class as a variable moderating the effect of the difference between NESTs and NNESTs on students’ attitudes and motivation. In addition, the type of class moderated teachers’ self-perception of their own teaching practices, providing support for the moderating effect of the type of class on various measures and samples. Theoretical as well as pedagogical implications are discussed.

This paper aims to explore the methods and techniques that are used to make investment decisions in German manufacturing companies. It intends to investigate whether the behaviour of companies is in line with finance and management accounting theory. Based on a literature review taking into account specifics of German management accounting techniques, a survey instrument was developed. It includes questions on both investment appraisal methods and cost-of-capital. The questionnaire was administered in a web-based survey with a final sample size of 65 companies from the manufacturing sector in Germany. It is found that the net present value (NPV) technique is the most prominent method applied by the sample companies. Moreover, significant differences between companies of different sizes are identified. In smaller companies, single period methods such as cost comparison are more popular whereas larger companies tend to use multi-period methods.

Beach nourishment projects, practices, and objectives—a European overview

By adopting quantitative analysis, based on the statements for oral scale of CSE (China Standards of English) level five, this paper investigated the current status, common difficulties and control factors on oral English competency of non-English majors in second-tier universities, which was conducted using questionnaires that includes six dimensions of language expression: accuracy, complexity, coherence, fluency, appropriateness, and flexibility. The results showed that: (i) the overall oral English competency of college non-English majors hasn’t met the statements of CSE level five; (ii) female students significantly outperformed male students, and business majors students significantly outperformed those in liberal arts majors who were significantly better than those in science majors; (iii) there was no significant difference between grades; (iv) the flexibility, coherence and accuracy of language expression almost reached the standard grade, but the common core difficulties faced by the students were mainly in pronunciation, scope of language expression, fluency and appropriateness. Unclear goals, less practice and poor vocabulary were major impact factors. The research is helpful for strengthening students’ knowledge on their own oral English competency as well as adjusting their oral practice objectives, thereby shedding light on students’ actual oral English proficiency and helping to clarify and refine the teaching objectives of speaking and promote the effective practice of oral English as well as the rational application of CSE.

Examining effectiveness of communities of practice in online English for academic purposes (EAP) assessment in virtual classes

The relative contribution of computer assisted prosody training vs. instructor based prosody teaching in developing speaking skills by interpreter trainees: An experimental study